This week we have been practicing our writing skills! We came back from the break and reviewed the reading sounds we worked on right before the break (an/en, on, oi). Then my kids went to their desks with a dry erase marker (and a glove from Dollarama to use as an eraser). I gave them a word as a prompt (eg. oiseau) and then they had to write a few sentences/short story about it. Then they had to look back over their work and circle the sounds "an/en", "on", and "oi" in their sentences. We are really trying to get them to edit their work, so having something specific to do (circle sounds) will hopefully help build the habit. Once they were happy with their work, they stood up and everyone chose a new desk. They sat down at their new desk and edited the writing on their desk. They were looking for capitals, periods, word wall words, and words with the reading sounds we were hunting for. Once they were done, they went back to their own desks to see if the changes that had been made to their work made sense. It was really exciting to see how engaged they were! They were very focused on the editing aspect, and I could quickly tell who was using the word wall to help them edit the work. Here are some examples of their writing:

We have been working all year on getting away from the "Je vois..." sentences that my kids know and love. Today we played a "game" to ensure they started their sentences differently. I had one pile of my word wall sentence starters (here) and one of our spring word wall words (here). I picked the vocabulary words they already know from grade 1. I chose one student to pick a sentence starter (without looking), and one to pick our vocabulary word. They we *dramatically* flipped them over at the same time and put them into a pocket chart.

In groups of 2-3, they then came up with sentences (orally) that started with the sentence prompt and contained the vocabulary word. My students got really into it! I also loved the results, because they automatically had to step up their game with their sentence structures. This was drastically different to the "Je vois (#) (colour) (object)" sentences that they are used to creating. Here are some of the really cool sentences they came up with: Pourquoi est-ce que les oiseaux sont nés dans les œufs?Quand je vois l'herbe vert, c'est le printemps. Dans mon sac a dos, il y a une abeille. L'abeille m'a piqué. Est-ce que tu as un bain d'oiseau à ta maison?

SO fun! Although they didn't understand what I was so excited about, they seemed to have also had fun :)

Here is a freebie you can use during Daily 5/in your literacy centres. You can download it in French or English. They are simple sentences that your kids can put together using the puzzle pieces. Just print, laminate, and cut up the sections!

I can't believe how fast this week has gone! I've spent some time this past week prepping for spring units in the classroom. I prepped for the animal unit I will be teaching in about a month. Here are some screen shots of some of the things I've included in the unit file. The files are on my TPT store in French and English.

(Images to show interaction between humans and animals)

(word wall cards)

(word wall definition cards)

Anything else you would like to see in the file? Leave a note in the comments :)

I am DONE with winter. I spent today printing/cutting/laminating flashcards and games to get all set for spring. Maybe if I get ready for it... it will come faster :) I made word wall words and some flashcards. There are 48 different words/phrases. I won't be using all of them with my grade 2s, but there's a selection to choose from.

For my Daily 5 activities, I made puzzle matching cards. My kids have really liked this one recently. They choose it more often than "bug in a rug" and "bang" now. It also includes writing cards. There is space for them to write the vocabulary with a whiteboard marker, or to use it in a sentence.

Do you have technology in your classroom? I have been using my old iphone and this small voice recorder (here). When they do their Daily 5 work (or any writing) they can record themselves reading it. I really like how they can play it back and listen to their voices. I have many students who don't check over their work before handing it in, and recording their voices makes them read their work again. They also use the recorders to read poems and songs that we have done as a class.

The iphone and voice recorder are both (very) expensive items for grade 2 students to be using though. Although they are able to use both easily, I do get worried about them getting dropped/broken. I'd love to hear what you use and enjoy in your classrooms!!